No blue rose exists, but several other blue flowers can keep white blooms company in the cooler months ahead.

We found the following six among those on nursery shelves:

• German primrose (Primula obconica) produces clusters of flat, single 1- to 2-inch blooms in blue and white held above a tidy mound of rounded, scalloped leaves. You also can add apricot, pink and rose.

Plant primroses in November in a moist, organically enriched, well-draining soil and part sun to bright shade. They're cold-hardy and will survive our occasional temperature dips into the 20s. Blooms will continue until it's hot.

• Edging lobelia (Lobelia erinus) is only 4 to 6 inches tall, but cultivars of this spreading low-grower bring brilliant cobalt to pale blues to the garden fall to spring. Lobelia also comes in white.

The flowers are a mere half-inch across, but they cover the bronzy-green foliage. Use lobelia at the front of a bed, at the feet of spring-flowering bulbs and to cascade out of containers. Give it part sun or bright shade and a fertile, moist well-draining soil. It's half-hardy, so be ready to cover when temperatures fall to the upper 20s.

• Chinese-forget-me-nots (Cynoglossum amabile) bring true sky blue to a cool-season garden with a profusion of teeny blooms on foot-tall plants with gray-green leaves. A reseeding half-hardy annual, the annual loves cool weather, but flowers and foliage will burn during a freeze. Cover plants when a dip is forecast. Plant in sun to part shade and moist, well-draining soil.

• Violas (Viola spp.) may be smaller than their pansy cousins, but they're big on charm and quite prolific. A startling assortment of colors includes white, many shades of blue and blue-and-white combinations.

Plant the 6- to 10-inch mounding cultivars so they will spill over raised beds or pot rims. Sun and a compost-enriched soil are best.

Violas are easy companions with other cool-season types, and they work well at the foot of spring-flowering tulips and daffodils.

• Cyclamen (Cyclamen spp.) have heart-shaped leaves and fluttery white blooms (they also come in red and pink). Plant tightly for a fuller look in beds or containers in morning sun or bright shade. Good drainage is a must. Remove spent flowers and foliage to keep them tidy.

• Paperwhites (Narcissus spp.) are easy to force for fragrant indoor holiday blooms. But we also can plant them outdoors around Thanksgiving for February flowers in the garden. Plant the bulbs in sun or semi-shade in well-draining, organic soil with 2 inches of soil above the bulb shoulder.

Paperwhites that naturalize here include 'Gallilea,' 'Erlicheer,' 'Ziva' and 'Thalia.'